The death of another Filipino working overseas has shocked the Philippines

The death of another Filipino working overseas has shocked the Philippines

Transcript¹

Every year millions of Filipinos leave their homeland to work overseas, sending billions of dollars back home. The death of a female overseas Filipino worker has shaken the country to its core.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Every year, millions of Filipinos find work overseas, sending billions of dollars back home. But the recent rape² and killing³ of a pregnant Filipino worker in Kuwait has shaken the country to its core. NPR's Ashley Westerman explains.

ASHLEY WESTERMAN, BYLINE⁴: Last week, on a busy street in Las Pinas, a dense⁵ city just south of the capital, Manila, dozens of white wreaths crowd the sidewalk. Above hangs a giant banner with the photo of a young, hijab-clad woman that reads justice for Jullebee Cabilis Ranara.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

WESTERMAN: Thirty-five-year-old Jullebee Ranara was working as a domestic worker in Kuwait when her charred⁶ body was found last month, discarded in the desert. Kuwaiti media report that an autopsy⁷ revealed Ranara, a mother of two, was pregnant at the time of her death. The teenage son of her employer has been arrested as a suspect. And an investigation⁸ is ongoing⁹. The Kuwaiti government has condemned¹⁰ the crime, while the Philippine government has vowed¹¹ to get to the bottom of it. Ranara's body was flown back to the Philippines on January 27. Wholesale¹² shop owner Irene Guinto has been watching the crowds come and go all week from Ranara's heavily guarded wake. President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos even made an appearance.

IRENE GUINTO: Definitely, I feel sad because she's my kabayan.

WESTERMAN: Kabayan means fellow countryman in Tagalog. Guinto is a former overseas Filipino worker - or OFW - too, who worked in Dubai for 14 years to make a better living.

GUINTO: Because I'm a single mom, I have, of course, definitely, to provide for my son. And, you know, for a better life, opportunity overseas.

WESTERMAN: Guinto says what happened to Ranara is a reminder¹³ of the risks OFWs, particularly women, take to find better, higher paying jobs. Ranara's story has shocked the Philippines, prompting an outpouring of condolences on social media. Calls to stop sending OFWs to Kuwait, where similar incidents have happened before, have been echoing up and down the country. But Congresswoman Arlene Brosas, of the Gabriela Women's Party, says she's not optimistic about this prospect¹⁴. And there's a reason for that.

ARLENE BROSAS: We have no generation of job or not enough generation of job here in the Philippines. Filipinos are forced to go to other countries just to find work.

WESTERMAN: Thousands of abuse cases are reported every year. But Brosas says the government is slow to make changes to both the system and the overall economy because these workers pour billions into the country, making up roughly 10% of the Philippine's GDP. Leonardo Lanzona is an economist¹⁵ at Ateneo de Manila University. He says this money is crucial because the Philippines needs foreign currency to pay for imports.

LEONARDO LANZONA: Without these remittances¹⁶, the peso would be more depreciated¹⁷. And therefore, it will cost the country more.

WESTERMAN: But in the long run, he says, remittances are not a good substitution for investment in one's own economy. And that's what's lacking.

LANZONA: Industries are not being developed, so it becomes an ongoing, intergenerational movement to leave the country.

(WAILING)

WESTERMAN: The scene at Jullebee Ranara's private funeral Sunday in Las Pinas was one of immense grief. This video, posted by Philippine media to Twitter, shows throngs¹⁸ of relatives and loved ones loudly weeping over her casket.

(CROSSTALK)

WESTERMAN: Her family, which has yet to address the public directly, say they want justice for Ranara so that no OFW's family ever has to live through what they've endured. But with post-pandemic OFW deployments only increasing, those chances are slim.

For NPR News, I'm Ashley Westerman, Las Pinas, Philippines.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOMINIC RUIZ'S "THE PATH AHEAD IS HIDDEN")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

6 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

11 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

12 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

13 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

14 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

15 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

16 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

17 depreciated   

v.贬值，跌价，减价( depreciate的过去式和过去分词 )；贬低，蔑视，轻视

参考例句：

• Fixed assets are fully depreciated. 折旧足额。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Shares in the company have depreciated. 该公司的股票已经贬值。 来自辞典例句

18 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句